The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership

by Bill Walsh

my ego was committed to the stupid challenge I had made while boasting about our running game to the media. Tulane’s defense was stronger than I had concluded after watching their game films. However, I didn’t want to be proved wrong in front of sixty-five thousand spectators in the Super-dome who had read my boast in the sports section of the New Orleans Times-Picayune or heard it on radio or television. When I recognized the mental trap I had set and stepped into, I abandoned our ground game and allowed quarterback Guy Benjamin’s passing skills to get us going. The results were immediate, and Stanford won 21-17. However, I had jeopardized the game by locking my ego into a strategy that was failing. I did not allow logic or the reality of the game to pierce my veil of pride. It was my ego and strength of will that had almost killed us. I had all but lost that game for our young team because I didn’t want to back off something I’d bragged about. I was caught up in my own rhetoric about Stanford’s running game when I had a quarterback who was one of the finest passers in college football. Even now I’m a little embarrassed to think about the level of immaturity I demonstrated during an important game. Obviously, this was not my best moment as a leader.